az2aws

Log in to AWS CLI using Microsoft Entra ID SSO. Supports MFA and places temporary credentials in the proper location for AWS CLI and SDKs.

💡 Tip: Let's be honest — typing az2aws correctly on the first try is harder than the AWS certification exam. Save your sanity:

# Add to your ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc
alias a2='az2aws'
# or
alias aa='az2aws'

Your fingers will thank you. Your keyboard will thank you. Your coworkers will stop hearing you swear.

Contents

• Installation
  • mise (Recommended)
  • npm
  • Docker
  • Snap
• Command Options
• Usage
  • Configuration
  • Logging In
• Automation
  • Which profiles --all-profiles refreshes
• Getting Your Tenant ID and App ID URI
• How It Works
• Troubleshooting
• Support for Other Authentication Providers
• Acknowledgements

Installation

mise (Recommended)

mise is a version manager that can install az2aws directly.

Install mise:

curl https://mise.run | sh

Activate mise in your shell:

# For zsh (macOS default)
echo 'eval "$(~/.local/bin/mise activate zsh)"' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

# For bash (Linux default)
echo 'eval "$(~/.local/bin/mise activate bash)"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

Install az2aws:

mise use -g npm:az2aws

npm

Install Node.js v24 or higher, then install az2aws:

npm install -g az2aws

Linux Notes

You must install puppeteer dependencies first.

Install for all users:

sudo npm install -g az2aws
sudo chmod -R go+rx $(npm root -g)

Install for current user only:

mkdir ~/.npm-global
npm config set prefix '~/.npm-global'
echo 'export PATH=~/.npm-global/bin:$PATH' >> ~/.profile
source ~/.profile
npm install -g az2aws

Windows Notes

If you get a missing Chrome/Chromium error, reinstall the Puppeteer browser from the installed az2aws package directory:

node <npm_global_node_modules>\az2aws\node_modules\puppeteer\install.mjs

For an npm global install, replace <npm_global_node_modules> with the output of npm root -g. If you installed az2aws with pnpm or another package manager, locate puppeteer/install.mjs under the installed az2aws package directory and run it with node.

Docker

Run az2aws with a volume mounted to your AWS configuration directory:

docker run --rm -it -v ~/.aws:/root/.aws taiseiito1000/az2aws

You can also install the docker-launch.sh script to your PATH:

# Download the script (replace VERSION with a specific release tag, e.g., v1.0.0)
curl -o /tmp/az2aws https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kuma0128/az2aws/VERSION/docker-launch.sh -L

# IMPORTANT: Review the script before installing
cat /tmp/az2aws

# Install after verification
sudo mv /tmp/az2aws /usr/local/bin/az2aws
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/az2aws

Security Note: Always download from a specific release tag (not main) and review the script before installing.

Snap

https://snapcraft.io/az2aws

Command Options

Usage

Configuration

To configure the az2aws client run:

az2aws --configure

You'll need your Azure Tenant ID and the App ID URI. To configure a named profile, use the --profile flag.

az2aws --configure --profile foo

GovCloud / China Region Support

Set the region in your ~/.aws/config to use non-standard AWS partitions:

• GovCloud: us-gov-west-1, us-gov-east-1
• China: cn-north-1, cn-northwest-1

For GovCloud, make sure your AWS CLI default region is set to a GovCloud region if you do not set a profile region; otherwise STS calls may target the standard partition.

Stay Logged In

Enable "Stay logged in" during configuration to use --no-prompt without storing passwords:

az2aws --no-prompt
az2aws --profile foo --no-prompt

--incognito starts the login flow in a fresh incognito browser context. This helps avoid reusing an existing browser session, and it overrides any saved "Stay logged in" browser state for that run.

AWS CLI credential_process

Configure the profile first so it has the defaults needed for non-interactive login, then point AWS CLI at az2aws:

[profile myprofile]
credential_process = az2aws --profile myprofile --credential-process

--credential-process uses the same non-interactive defaults as --no-prompt, so make sure the profile already has the role and other required values set. Standard output is reserved for the AWS CLI JSON payload, while human-readable status messages are written to stderr.

Example stdout payload:

{
  "Version": 1,
  "AccessKeyId": "...",
  "SecretAccessKey": "...",
  "SessionToken": "...",
  "Expiration": "2026-01-01T00:00:00.000Z"
}

Environment Variables

You can set defaults via environment variables (use with --no-prompt):

• AZURE_TENANT_ID / AZURE_APP_ID_URI - Microsoft Entra ID settings
• AZURE_DEFAULT_USERNAME / AZURE_DEFAULT_PASSWORD - Credentials
• AZURE_DEFAULT_ROLE_ARN / AZURE_DEFAULT_DURATION_HOURS - AWS role settings

When using --no-prompt with multiple available roles, you must set AZURE_DEFAULT_ROLE_ARN (or configure azure_default_role_arn) so the CLI can select a role without prompting.

To avoid storing passwords in bash history, use a leading space:

HISTCONTROL=ignoreboth
 export AZURE_DEFAULT_PASSWORD=mypassword

Use an Existing Chrome Install and Profile

Use your own Chrome installation by setting these environment variables:

• BROWSER_CHROME_BIN - Path to Chrome executable
• BROWSER_USER_DATA_DIR - Chrome user data directory
• BROWSER_PROFILE_DIR - Chrome profile name (e.g., "Default")

Example:

# macOS
export BROWSER_CHROME_BIN="/Applications/Google Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google Chrome"
export BROWSER_USER_DATA_DIR="$HOME/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome"

# Linux
export BROWSER_CHROME_BIN="/usr/bin/google-chrome"
export BROWSER_USER_DATA_DIR="$HOME/.config/google-chrome"

# Common
export BROWSER_PROFILE_DIR="Default"
az2aws --mode gui --no-disable-extensions --no-sandbox

Logging In

az2aws                    # Default profile
az2aws --profile foo      # Named profile
az2aws --mode gui         # Use browser UI (more reliable)
az2aws --mode debug       # Show the browser while az2aws still drives the flow
az2aws --mode gui --incognito  # Open a fresh incognito login window

You'll be prompted for username, password, and MFA if required. After login, use AWS CLI/SDKs as usual.

--mode gui is fully manual and waits for you to complete the browser flow yourself. If you want the browser to stay visible while az2aws still auto-fills the login steps, use --mode debug.

Tips:

• Set AWS_PROFILE env var instead of using --profile
• Use --mode gui --disable-gpu on VMs or if rendering fails
• Set https_proxy or http_proxy env var for corporate proxy

Troubleshooting

If you see TargetCloseError: Protocol error (Target.setAutoAttach): Target closed, the browser profile may be incompatible with the bundled Chromium version (e.g., after upgrading or downgrading az2aws). When using the default managed profile (~/.aws/chromium) with "Stay logged in" enabled, az2aws will automatically reset the profile and retry. If you have set BROWSER_USER_DATA_DIR to point to an existing Chrome profile, az2aws will not modify that directory — you will need to resolve the incompatibility manually (e.g., update az2aws, or use a different BROWSER_USER_DATA_DIR).

If you see device compliance errors (e.g., "Device UnSecured Or Non-Compliant"), Try: --mode gui and use your system Chrome via BROWSER_CHROME_BIN.

If your Microsoft account requires a saved passkey prompt before the username or password page appears, that flow is unsupported in az2aws --mode cli. The prompt is rendered by the browser/OS passkey UI instead of the page DOM, so az2aws cannot dismiss it automatically. Use --mode gui and handle it manually, or use an account that can continue with the standard page-based username/password/MFA flow.

If you see "Unable to recognize page state!", Azure's login pages may have changed. Try:

• --mode gui or --mode debug
• Filing an issue with the screenshot (az2aws-unrecognized-state.png) to help maintainers update selectors

Automation

Renew all profiles at once:

az2aws --all-profiles
az2aws --all-profiles --no-prompt    # With "Stay logged in" enabled

Credentials are only refreshed if expiring within 11 minutes - safe to run as a cron job.

Which profiles --all-profiles refreshes

--all-profiles iterates every [default] / [profile <name>] section in ~/.aws/config that has at least one azure_* key (e.g. azure_tenant_id, azure_app_id_uri, azure_default_role_arn). Sections without any azure_* key — plain AWS profiles, [sso-session ...], [services ...] — are skipped.

Profiles that intentionally keep azure_tenant_id / azure_app_id_uri in environment variables (AZURE_TENANT_ID, AZURE_APP_ID_URI) instead of the config file are still refreshed, as long as they have some other azure_* key on disk. If required values are missing even after the env-var merge, az2aws fails loudly with Profile '<name>' is not configured properly. rather than skipping silently.

Getting Your Tenant ID and App ID URI

Ask your Microsoft Entra ID admin for these values, or extract them from myapps.microsoft.com:

1. Load the myapps.microsoft.com page.
2. Click the app tile for the login you want.
3. In the window that pops open, quickly copy the login.microsoftonline.com URL. (You can also use browser DevTools with "Preserve log" enabled to capture it.)
4. The GUID right after login.microsoftonline.com/ is the tenant ID.
5. Copy the SAMLRequest URL param.
6. Paste it into a URL decoder (like this one) and decode.
7. Paste the decoded output into a SAML deflated and encoded XML decoder (like this one).
8. In the decoded XML output the value of the Audience tag is the App ID URI.
9. Verify the tenant ID using the tenantid attribute in the XML.

How It Works

az2aws uses Puppeteer to automate a Chromium browser for Microsoft Entra ID login. It parses the SAML response and calls AWS STS AssumeRoleWithSAML to get temporary credentials.

Troubleshooting

If login fails, try these in order:

1. GUI mode: az2aws --mode gui - most reliable
2. Debug mode: az2aws --mode debug - see browser while CLI runs
3. Verbose logging: DEBUG=az2aws az2aws (Windows: set DEBUG=az2aws && az2aws)

Support for Other Authentication Providers

This tool only supports Microsoft Entra ID. Contributions for other SAML providers are welcome - open an issue on GitHub to discuss.

Acknowledgements

This project is forked from aws-azure-login. Thanks to the original authors and contributors.